— apartmental /euh pahrt men"tl/ , adj.
/euh pahrt"meuhnt/ , n.
1. a room or a group of related rooms, among similar sets in one building, designed for use as a dwelling.
2. a building containing or made up of such rooms.
3. any separated room or group of rooms in a house or other dwelling: We heard cries from an apartment at the back of the house.
4. apartments , Brit. a set of rooms used as a dwelling by one person or one family.
[ 1635-45; appartement appartamento, equiv. to apparta ( re ) to separate, divide (v. deriv. of a parte APART, to one side) + - mento -MENT ]
Syn. 1. APARTMENT, COMPARTMENT agree in denoting a space enclosed by partitions or walls. APARTMENT, however, emphasizes the idea of separateness or privacy: one's own apartment. COMPARTMENT suggests a section of a larger space: compartments in a ship's hold, in an orange crate.